Best iPhone apps this week

Mailbox

The number of people on the waiting list for Mailbox says all that needs to be said about the native iOS email app. While it does the basics right, Mailbox aims to be a bit smarter, and offer a truly mobile friendly experience, with some clever touches to boot. Currently compatible with Gmail only (more platforms coming soon, apparently), Mailbox allows you to archive and delete messages with simple gestures, offers an instant chat-like organisation to your email chains and boasts a unique snooze function so you can delay some emails and have them redelivered to the top of your inbox at a more convenient time. With 800,000 on the waiting list at time of writing though, you’d better join the queue sharpish.

After Burner Climax

Sega’s 2006 fighter jet arcade game has just been released for iOS, putting you in virtual control of some of the world’s fastest fighter jets – including the F-14D Super Tomcat and the F-15E Strike Eagle. Dodge enemy fire and other obstacles as you try to take out enemy aircraft over 20 stages, unlocking achievements to activate exclusive power ups and secret levels along the way.

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Roar Rampage

Wonderfully retro from its styling to its soundtrack, Roar Rampage is based on the original 1986 arcade game, Rampage, and sees you playing as an angry dinosaur with a strong arm, a massive boxing glove and one hell of a grudge. You have to punch your way through everything in your path as quick as you can, destroying the weapons and troops the military has sent out to stop you. You can even turn the surrounding scenery into weapons – anyone for a train nunchuck?

Kickstarter

The popular crowdfunding website has made its way to an iPhone app, making it easier for you to fund and follow the progress of creative projects on the go – and create your own projects, too. At a glance you can see the projects a person has backed from their profile page, a newsfeed of interesting new and popular projects to read about and track how your project’s funding is going from the dashboard.

THX tune-up

If you’ve been running your home cinema equipment on its ‘out-of-the-box settings’, this app will help you tweak your picture and audio settings to get the most out of them. You’ll need the kit to hook your iDevice up to your TV – so an HDMI cable and Apple’s digital AV adapter for your device, or you adjust the picture only over Apple TV via AirPlay. For video you’ll get a series of test patterns that will help you adjust your picture settings for your room and lighting conditions, while the audio tests will check any external speakers to ensure they are working ‘in phase’ and properly.